by Catalina Camia and Susan Davis, USA TODAY

by Catalina Camia and Susan Davis, USA TODAY

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, an influential conservative leader, said Thursday he is resigning next month to join the Heritage Foundation as its president.

"It's been an honor to serve the people of South Carolina in the United States Senate for the past eight years, but now it's time for me to pass the torch to someone else and take on a new role in the fight for America's future," DeMint said in a statement.

DeMint, a hero to the small-government, anti-tax Tea Party movement, was often at odds with the Republican Party establishment on budget issues. Through the Senate Conservatives Fund, his political action committee, DeMint has financially supported the candidacies of conservatives such as Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey, Florida's Marco Rubio and Sen.-elect Ted Cruz of Texas.

DeMint's departure scrambles the political landscape in South Carolina. Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, will appoint a replacement, who will serve until a special election can be held in 2014. DeMint's term expires in 2016.

In his statement, the founder of the Senate's Tea Party Caucus said he is joining the think tank because "the conservative movement needs strong leadership in the battle of ideas."

"My constituents know that being a senator was never going to be my career," DeMint said. "I came to Congress as a citizen legislator and I've always been determined to leave it as a citizen legislator."

David Woodard, a Clemson University professor who co-wrote a book with DeMint in 2007, said he believes DeMint had grown tired of serving in the Senate minority. The GOP's failure to gain the majority in 2012 likely fueled DeMint's exit, Woodard added.

"I am absolutely not surprised one bit that this happened," said Woodard, recalling a conversation with DeMint years ago in which the lawmaker said he would consider leaving the Senate to work for a place like the Heritage Foundation.

DeMint "could be like (former South Carolina GOP Sen.) Strom Thurmond. He could stay there as long as he wanted to stay. But he really wants to do policy and he thinks the Heritage Foundation is the place to do that," Woodard said.

Sen. Toomey, who was elected in the Tea Party's 2010 wave, said DeMint's departure is "a tremendous loss for the U.S. Senate and for the conservative movement," but that the South Carolina Republican would "continue to play an important role in the ongoing public debate about the future of this country."

South Carolina is deeply red, and was already going to host key political races to watch in 2014. Haley and senior Sen. Lindsey Graham are both up for re-election in 2014. Both are vulnerable to primary challenges: Haley's approval rating was 38% in a recent Greenville Times poll and Graham has been criticized by some Republicans for some of his votes, including his support of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

The Palmetto State has a deep bench of Republicans, and the congressional delegation includes GOP Reps. Mick Mulvaney, Trey Gowdy and Tim Scott -- who are all widely viewed as potential contenders for higher office. Scott, who is African American, had been eyeing a run for governor and his name has come up frequently in news accounts as a possible DeMint replacement.

Other potential contenders include state Sen. Tom Davis, who served as chief of staff to former governor Mark Sanford, as well as state Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

At the Heritage Foundation, DeMint will succeed Ed Feulner, who has been tied to the think tank since it opened its doors in 1973. DeMint will manage a staff of 250 with an annual budget of more than $80 million.

Feulner, who his leaving in April, was paid just over $1 million in 2010, according to the Heritage Foundation's tax documents.